FunkJazz Kafe Returns to Atlanta

Jason Orr has lived his life with purpose.

Nearly twenty years ago, Orr was a college dropout working as a tax collector for the City of Atlanta and managing a group of artists in his spare time.  Orr was raised in Atlanta and had graduated from Northside High School where he studied Tech Theater.  He went on to spend two years at Clark Atlanta University before leaving the city.  When he returned, he was looking for a job, any job.  What he found paid the bills while he worked with the musicians who would eventually The Chronicle, a legendary Atlanta-based FunkJazz Band.

“During this time, I was also exploring other interest,” Orr said.  His other interests included creating an environment where young Atlanta artists could perform for local audiences.

In 1994, he started FunkJazz Kafe, as a roaming multimedia music and arts festival. 

“I wanted to have a brand that was indicative of innovation and creativity and thinking outside of the box,” Orr said.  “That’s clearly what funk is and it’s clearly what jazz is.” 

Right from the start, Orr felt the magic.

“The magic was certainly there,” Orr said. “That magic of improvisation and impromptu moments that become magical.”

Unlike other music festivals, FunkJazz Kafe never advertised the names of performers but rather introduced local artists who became household names as their careers progressed beyond their FunkJazz debut.

“Atlanta had such a vibrant artistic community,” Orr said. “Let’s use the people power and the people talent, bring them together and make something that was more exciting or at least more unique or has more of a personal touch or community touch than we’re used to.”

For the first six years of FunkJazz Kafe, the festival thrived in spite of the lack of marquee talent because there was much more happening with the ever-changing four walls of the Kafe than music.

The festival changed venues frequently and featured multimedia performances in addition to musical performances.

“There’s just so many different things to engage in, I think that was the new phenomenon that people appreciated,” Orr said.   

The festival continued until 2007 though the frequency of the once quarterly event began declining in 2002 and in 2005 and 2006 it disappeared entirely.  After putting the event on only once in 2007, Orr began working on his now award-winning documentary FunkJazz Kafe: Diary of a Decade, which chronicles both the decade in Atlanta music history that saw the emergence of soul artists into the mainstream music scene and the beginnings of FunkJazz Kafe. 

“It’s an agent of social change,” Orr said. 

The film will be screened again in Atlanta on Friday, July 12 at Southwest Arts Center.  Orr has edited the film since it’s last Atlanta screening from 2 hours and 40 minutes down to 2 hours in order to appeal to a wider audience.

“I hope people come out more educated about what’s happened in Atlanta and the phenomenon of what’s happened at FunkJazz Kafe Music & Arts Festival,” Orr said.

Following the screening, the 2013 FunkJazz Kafe Music & Arts Festival will be held on Saturday July 13 at the Tabernacle.  Orr hopes that screening the film before the festival’s return after a four year absence will allow new audiences to understand FunkJazz Kafe before experiencing it for themselves.

“Next year will be 20 years for us and it’s still anticipated,” Orr said.  “That’s pretty magical and miraculous and it needs to be noted.”

For Orr, FunkJazz Kafe is only the beginning of a movement in the music industry.

“This is only a part of it, its only part of a journey,” Orr said. “I know my life is on purpose.”